Cardiologist strikes back with defamation suit against medical resident who accused him of sexual assault

A prominent Toronto cardiologist has filed a defamation lawsuit against a female medical resident who accused him last year of using his position of authority to coerce her into sexual intercourse while she was under his direct clinical supervision at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Dr. Benedict Martin Glover, who was an associate professor at the University of Toronto at the time of the alleged misconduct, stated in his claim that Dr. Sophia Duong had “invented these allegations for the improper purpose of coercing settlement monies.” He has denied having any sexual contact with Dr. Duong. The defamation suit is a counterclaim to a lawsuit Dr. Duong filed against Dr. Glover, Sunnybrook and UofT, which accuses the two institutions of failing to investigate her complaint of sexual misconduct against Dr. Glover. Read: No registration? Lawsuit says health authority should have sussed out fake nurse According to a Globe and Mail report, no findings from this complaint have been released. Sunnybrook and UofT have said in their statements of defence that Dr. Duong’s complaint is under investigation by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, which has a policy that prohibits supervisors from having sexual relationships with medical students and postgraduate trainees under their guidance. The CPSO website, however, says the two organizations are investigating Dr. Glover. It also states Dr. Glover had agreed to a leave of absence from Sunnybrook effective July 30, 2021 and that he has been suspended from his position at the University of Toronto. Dr. Duong, who graduated in 2020 from UofT’s medical school, first met Dr. Glover during a four-week rotation in Sunnybrook’s cardiology unit. According to court documents, Dr. Glover became Dr. Duong’s mentor and they were to work together on a four-week research project. On July 23, 2021, shortly before the start of this project, Dr. Duong went to a party at the Toronto home of Dr. Glover, who had organized the event for some members of the cardiology unit. Read: Diabetic doctor who lost leg to gangrene launches malpractice suit against podiatrist According to Dr. Duong’s statement of claim, Dr. Glover asked her to stay after the party to discuss her career and pressed her to “take a drink and we can keep talking.” He also kissed her, which led to sexual intercourse on a trampoline in the backyard, according to the claim. The next day, Dr. Duong went to Women’s College Hospital for a sexual assault examination. According to the statement of claim, the swabs from the kit have not been tested for DNA because Dr. Duong did not file criminal charges against Dr. Glover. A few days later, Dr. Duong spoke to police, telling them she had given Dr. Glover verbal consent but that she was extremely intoxicated. She also said that as a medical resident she was used to heeding her supervisor. “The events are very blurry. I can’t really remember what I said. I just remember the feeling of being uncomfortable but needing to tough it out,” she told police in a video interview which the Globe and Mail reported having viewed. Read: Nurses: Guilty verdict for dosing mistake could cost lives Dr. Glover stated in his defence that he had no power over Dr. Duong’s career and that he did not have sex with her nor encourage her to drink. Instead, he said, after his guests left he went inside the house at around 1:00 am to check on his children and fell asleep. A couple of hours later, he went back outside and found Dr. Duong asleep on the trampoline. Both Sunnybrook and UofT have stated in their defence that they are not employers of Dr. Glover. Sunnybrook has also disclosed that it has hired an investigator to look into another complaint against Dr. Glover, who is alleged by a departing employee to have had a consensual relationship with an employee of a lab funded by Dr. Glover. Dr. Duong, who has been on stress leave from Sunnybrook since the alleged incident, is entitled to workplace protection because, even though she's a resident in UofT's internal medicine program, she reported to the hospital for work, said her lawyer. “I am taking the legal position—which is the correct position—that my client was owed every single employment protection that any other employee in this province has,” she said. Through his lawyer, Dr. Glover stated he will “not litigate this issue in the press. He looks forward to being vindicated in court so that he can return his full attention to practising medicine.” Read: Doctor hits back against $6 million lawsuit alleging forced sterilization

Cardiologist strikes back with defamation suit against medical resident who accused him of sexual assault

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